New iPhone and wired 3.5mm headphones? That'll be another $9 for the Lightning dongle

The tech giant announced the iPhone XS, XS Max and the XR during an event at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.
USA TODAY

Apple's new iPhone XR, XS and XS Max are, without a doubt, impressive devices with their faster processors, edge-to-edge displays and robust cameras.

And while Apple has dropped the home button in place of facial recognition, it also quietly removed one other thing: the included headphone adapter.

Apple's desire to "kill" the headphone jack has been clear since it first removed the port from the iPhone 7 in 2016. But in the 7, 8 and X iPhones (as well as the 7 Plus and 8 Plus), the company had included a tiny adapter that let you use the phone's Lightning port with 3.5mm wired headphones.

Apple used to include an attachment to let you use wired headphones. Not anymore.(Photo: Apple Inc.)

With the new iPhones, however, that adapter is no longer in the box. Instead, if you want to use your wired headphones with your new iPhone, you'll need to pony up another $9 to buy the dongle from Apple, even after spending at least $749 for your shiny new iPhone XR, $999 for the iPhone XS or $1099 for the iPhone XS Max – that is, for the base models.

The company also no longer includes the adapter with the iPhone 7, 7 Plus, 8 and 8 Plus.

That said, Apple does include wired Lightning headphones in the box, as it has every year since it removed the headphone jack.

And sure, you can use the company's AirPods, which Apple will, of course, happily sell you for $159. All of the phones also support Bluetooth 5.0 for use with third-party wireless headphones.

But for those clinging to the traditional headphones, well, Apple just threw more dirt onto its proverbial grave. Like the home button, it's gone and, probably not coming back.